Archive | Inspiration

In America, we’re taught to be consumers. We need new toys, more clothes, extra electronic devices, flashier cars, and bigger TVs. Bigger. Faster. More. We collect and build up this mountain of stuff that consumes our lives. This stuff that we worked so hard to attain eventually becomes burdens in our lives because of the […]

Words of Wisdom on a Fulfilling Life from Three Mentors Before we embarked on our journey around the world for our six-month sabbatical, I sought the advice of three people who I thought would have the answers to the questions I had. These men who I deeply respect and admire graciously shared some of their […]

As we prepared for bedtime one recent night, my four-year-old daughter, Emily, asked me a question that I was surprised to come from a such a young girl. She innocently and earnestly asked me, “Daddy, why do we have to die?” At first, I was taken aback at her sudden interest in our mortality. What […]

“Feel my ticket,” I murmured to my friend as we waited in line to get on the platform which hung over the top of the Stratosphere. We were 108 stories above the glowing lights of Las Vegas getting ready to jump out into the darkness. “Cliff, it’s almost disintegrated,” he said. “I know. Guess I […]

I needed a break…a really long and fulfilling break, one that I’m calling a “cultural sabbatical”. I’m not talking about two days on the weekend at a local resort or two weeks at some exotic location. I’m talking about six months away from it all with me, my thoughts, my Mac, and my family. And […]

“You’re taking your family?!” My colleague was in disbelief that almost four weeks in Nicaragua with two daughters (three years old and six months old) would be possible. “That’s the whole point of it.” I answered. “Is it safe there?” “Yeah. It’s actually one of the safest countries in Central and South America.” “I couldn’t […]

“Cliff, do you want to cut the cord?” asked our doctor. I didn’t hear her as I focused on our small, slimy baby that had just been born. I was mesmerized, relieved, and exhausted as I watched our first daughter finally come into this world. “Do you want to cut the cord?” she asked again, […]